Fast And Furious: The Deadly Scandal That Will Not Die

Operation “Fast and Furious,” the scandalous ATF gun-running scheme that trafficked thousands of firearms from the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels, is back in the news.

ATF admitted that a WASR-10 rifle, trafficked into Mexico by the ATF in November 2009 as part of the F&F operation, was one of three rifles used in an assault on the Mexican town of Valle de Zaragoza on July 27, 2015, in which three Mexican police officers were killed.

A letter from ATF to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Jason Chaffetz stated, “ATF and the (Justice) Department deeply regret that firearms associated with Operation Fast and Furious have been used by criminals in the commission of violent crimes, particularly crimes resulting the death of civilians and law enforcement officers.’’

The same letter confirmed that a .50-caliber rifle recovered from captured drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was also traced to Fast and Furious. The letter went on to state that the “ATF accepts full responsibility.”

Chicago: Another Day, Another 21 Victims

Last week, we documented a 20-hour span of violence in Chicago that resulted in 21 victims, including two fatalities. With city leaders unwilling to honestly address the issue, there is no reason to believe the unfettered bloodshed won’t continue. And Thursday proved to be nearly an exact replica of last week—21 more wounded, one fatally.

While lives are being lost at astounding rates in the Windy City, politicians are doing little more than living up their city’s nickname by blowing a lot of hot air. So Frank Miniter, in his continuing series on Chicago, asks whether Obama’s Department of Justice is too political to tackle the problem.

With Chicago ranking as the murder capital of the U.S., the city still clocks in at 82nd out of 90 federal districts in prosecution. Is the fear of being seen as racially biased affecting the prosecution rate? Read Miniter’s full article here.

Retaliatory Gang Shootings Spur Chicagoland Violence

In a stunning example of the ineffectiveness of Chicago’s restrictive gun-control laws and the city’s revolving-door justice system, the gang member father of a 9-year-old murder victim has been charged with a triple shooting that occurred earlier this month.

Last November, Dwight Boone-Doty, a gang member who was out on parole after serving less than half of a five-year sentence on gun charges, murdered 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee, whose father is a rival gang member suspected of murdering a member of Boone-Doty’s gang. Now the boy’s father, 25-year-old Pierre Stokes, is charged with a March 8 retaliatory shooting that left two men and a woman injured.

“This represents the challenge that police grapple with … Mr. Stokes, who was involved in a gang lifestyle, ultimately suffered an unspeakable loss with the calculated execution of his son,” Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Despite this, he continued to engage in the same gang activity that started this cycle of retaliatory violence.”

Citadel Cadets Ask The Governor For Help With Campus Anti-Gun Laws

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley began a Q&A session this week at Citadel College when one question hit close to home. Cadet Austin Lee, a Citadel senior, asked Haley to change policy prohibiting cadets with concealed-weapons permits from carrying guns in cars on campus.

Lee inquired, “Will you support our advocacy for this much-needed change?” The conflict puts the school’s “Blue Book” regulations at odds with South Carolina gun laws. The school states “regardless of possession of a concealed-weapons permit” no firearm can be in a personal vehicle on campus. However, the state’s concealed-carry law says college prohibitions do not apply to those certified to carry a concealed weapon if it is inside an attended or locked vehicle.

The governor has discussed this issue with Citadel’s president, adding that cadets should take their concerns to him. However, Haley seemed to side with the cadets, saying, “State law does allow you to carry your firearm.”

Armed Florida Homeowner Stops Burglary

A Davie, Fla., homeowner on Wednesday shot and killed a burglar who was trying to break into his home.

The homeowner, incidentally an off-duty Miramar police officer, told police he was awakened to the sound of breaking glass. He confronted the burglar outside his home and shot him.

According to a report at NBCMiami.com, the officer, 39-year-old Tait Thomas, told authorities he feared for his life and was forced to fire. No one else was injured in the incident.